Alabama

North Carolina coach Roy Williams watches from the sideline during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Miami in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014. Miami won 63-57. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Here's a look at the big matchups and top storylines from around the nation as we begin another busy weekend of college basketball action:

The Big Buzz: Will the real Tar Heels please stand up?

North Carolina at No. 2 Syracuse, Saturday at 12 p.m. ET

There are teams that struggle with their outside shooting, and then there's the 10-5 North Carolina Tar Heels, losers of two straight and staring three consecutive defeats in the face as they visit No. 2 Syracuse at the Carrier Dome this afternoon. The Tar Heels are flush with talented players, but almost none of them can connect from downtown.

North Carolina's Marcus Paige (5) looks to pass as Miami's Manu Lecomte (20) and Tonye Jekiri (23) defend during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014. Miami won 63-57. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Of North Carolina's five losses, three have come at home against the unspectacular likes of Belmont, Texas and Miami. Throw in road losses to UAB and Wake Forest and the Heels might just be looking at the NIT come March if they don't get their act together. But here's the thing: They also have beaten Louisville, Michigan State and Kentucky, giving them the best trio of wins of any team in the country.

I'm done trying to figure out North Carolina. The Tar Heels have the big men, the length, a few shooters and the point guard to beat Syracuse. But it's a big if against one of the top four teams in the country. UNC's chance lies in whether or not Marcus Paige can defend Tyler Ennis and score inside the zone.

Generally, truly great wins will outweigh an equal number of so-so losses. But the issue is timing, and it could be that all of Carolina's star power will have been expended more than three months before Selection Sunday. It would be hard for the selection committee to miss that kind of inverted performance, especially if a conference record in the .500 range tops it.

Watch what former Syracuse guard Matt Roe has to say about the Orange heading into the matchup with North Carolina in his "Three Points" segment: (via Syracuse.com)

Top games

Here's a look at some of this weekend's other can't-miss matchups involving teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25:

"It has been a little frustrating," Self told USA TODAY Sports near the locker room after the game. "Not because I have not enjoyed coaching them, but because I don't think they play with the zest and the energy and the youthful exuberance that I think 18 year olds should play with ... That has been frustrating for me, but they are great kids."

Syracuse's Tyler Ennis (11) goes up for a basket against Virginia Tech's C.J. Barksdale (42) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014, in Blacksburg, Va. (AP Photo/Don Petersen)

He's averaging 11.7 points and 5.6 assists per game. He leads the ACC with 2.6 steals per game. But those numbers don't tell the whole story of Ennis' impact on the game.

Ennis controls the game and runs the Syracuse offense in a manner far beyond his years. While his assist totals are high -- he ranks second in the ACC and the only Syracuse freshmen to average more were Pearl Washington and Jason Hart -- it's his incredibly low turnover rate that belies his age.

"I got people all over me because I was upset about the thing," Izzo said Thursday after practice. "Personally, I really don't care. Not to be a jerk, but I know my team, and I know expectations are higher by all of you. But they aren't as high as mine are and all those fans that (think), 'You're a little too hard on them, a little too this, a little too that?' You know what? More is given, more is expected."

"This doesn't happen to a good team," Craft said. "As much as we like to think we've been together and been in the battles, we haven't done it with this team. It goes to show we really haven't done much this year."

"It's probably not going to be pretty as much we'd like it to be this year. Teams now, you can feel it, they're coming in. You're pretty good when you can withstand those teams coming in," Kellogg said. "They're really doing a good job of game planning for us and they're really locked in. I think guys, when you play a Top 25 team, they buy into anything you say."